Standards and certifications for LED lighting: what are the most popular?

Modern LED lighting technologies continue to evolve rapidly. The development of new products for LED lighting systems brings with it new and updated certification requirements to determine product quality and different applications in specific markets.

The certification of LED lighting products requires compliance with a set of reference lighting standards relating to the safety, conformity and design of installations and luminaires in order to allow them to be placed on the market.

The certification process for LED luminaires includes an initial technical and construction assessment, a series of tests and instrumental trials to verify the essential requirements for compliance with regulations, and a final stage of issuing certificates.

The main standards for LED lighting in Europe and Italy

LED lighting systems, products and luminaires used in Italy and Europe must comply with CE marking guidelines and applicable European directives. The technical regulatory framework for LED lighting includes lighting standards from UNI, the Italian National Unification Organization, and others from CEI, the Italian Electrotechnical Committee.

We can categorise the main lighting regulations according to certain areas:

• Standards relating to performance and requirements (e.g. ref. UNI 10840, UNI 11248, UNI 12464);
• Technical standards relating to lighting installations (ref. CEI 64-7 and CEI 64.8);
• Specific standards for lighting products (ref. CEI EN 60598).

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Specifically, the regulatory standard for luminaires is almost entirely made up of CEI EN 60598:2015 standards - a set of lighting standards divided into:

CEI EN 60598-1: Luminaires, Part 1: General requirements and tests

This first part of the standard specifies the general requirements applicable to most luminaires with supply voltages up to 1000V, together with the relevant electrical, thermal, mechanical and photobiological safety tests.

CEI EN 60598-2: Luminaires, Part 2: Particular requirements

The second parts of the CEI lighting standard indicate, on the other hand, the specific requirements relating to a particular type of luminaire or group of luminaires, supplied with voltages not exceeding 1000V, applied in specific contexts and conditions of use. We can mention, for example:

• Standards relating to individual luminaires: night lights, floodlights, portable lamps, neon tubes, light chains, low voltage lamps, etc.
• Standards relating to groups of luminaires: fixed, recessed, portable, emergency, with transformers or converters, with low temperatures, etc.
• Standards for particular applications: photo and film luminaires, swimming pools, air treatment, aquariums, etc.
• Standards for specific contexts: luminaires for street lighting, stage and cinema lighting, hospital and healthcare lighting, etc.

Other CEI lighting standards related to products for LED lighting systems include:

• EN 62504: standards for LED products and related equipment
• EN 62722: regulations on LED luminaires
• EN 61347, EN 62384: standards for LED drivers
• EN 62031: standards for general lighting LED modules

Choosing certified products for LED lighting applications and projects

When choosing LED lighting products for use in lighting systems, you need to be aware of possible safety risks: electric shock, fire and biological hazards.

For example, with regard to the risk of electric shock, class 2 certified LED drivers offer a reduced risk of shock and fire due to their current and voltage limitation. Or, since the risk of fire is often due to the production of heat inside LEDs, it is possible to opt for LED heat sinks to prevent the electronic components from overheating.

An often underestimated risk is photobiological safety, i.e. exposure to ultraviolet wavelengths from LED lighting systems: the EN 62471 standard was introduced in Europe to establish specific requirements and performance for photobiological risk.

As LED technology advances faster and faster, it becomes necessary for companies and professionals working in LED lighting to rely on industry experts to keep up with the safety and performance standards of ever-evolving LED lighting products.

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In this sense, Digimax's consultancy in the world of professional lighting and LED lighting in particular, together with a wide range of interconnected products within the lighting chain, proves to be successful in creating certified LED lighting solutions for indoor and outdoor environments.

At Digimax we offer LED driver power supplies, dimmer controllers, COB LED, LED strips, lenses and reflectors, LED heat sinks and many other accessories from industry leaders such as Mean Well, Snappy, Colors, Citizen and Dalcnet, together with a custom design service for a wide variety of applications.

Discover the XLAB technical laboratory for assembly and testing, the functional and thematic area Digimax LAB and the Digimax Showroom, and contact us for a technical and regulatory consultancy dedicated to your LED lighting project.

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